Runes

the early alphabet used by the Teutonic and Gothic nations of early Europe. There were three types, the Norse, the Anglo-Saxon, and the German, differing but slightly, however. There are no books or manuscripts written in runes, but runes have been found on memorial stones, rings, coins, crosses, medals, brooches, and on the hilts and blades of swords, particularly in parts of England, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Germany and Iceland, France and Spain. It is thought that the runic style of writing was learned from the Greeks about 66 B. C. Writing in Runic characters was understood only by a few, the priests of the heathen gods. The fact that runes could talk caused the common people to ascribe to them a magical power. With the introduction of Christianity runic writing was suppressed as savoring of heathenism. Runes were condemned in Sweden about the year 1001, and in Spain they were officially forbidden by the council of Toledo in 1115. The runic alphabet has been resurrected and pieced together through the efforts of antiquarians. The letters of the English alphabet corresponding to the first six runic characters spell out the word futhork, a name by which the runes are sometimes known. See Alphabet